Firma Lucas was born Firma Boxler in Garden City, Kan., on Aug. 18, 1936, and died peacefully at Pine Ridge Rehabilitation Center in Pagosa Springs on June 25, 2025.
She met Gary Lucas and they married on April 2, 1956. Together they raised their four children: Allen, Elizabeth, Lance and Bonnie.
Firma grew up on a farm with three brothers, which no doubt played a part in her becoming a strong, determined and resourceful woman. For a while she ran the Wren’s Camera shop in Garden City. She also led Girl Scout Troop 14, taking them on many camping trips, and of course selling many boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She was also a member of the Prairie Pipers Sweet Adelines barbershop quartet, mastering four-part harmony.
In 1972, Gary and Firma picked up their family and moved to Pagosa Springs, Colo., where, after a stint operating the Wayside Grocery and Texaco Station that was half way up Put Hill, Firma became renowned for her gardening skills, running the nursery at Ponderosa Lumber. Also, one of the things her and Gary were well-known for was making many gallons of coleslaw for the Knights of Columbus lenten fish fries. You have not lived until you’ve seen a large kitchen table piled 2 feet high in shredded cabbage.
Her favorite pastimes included quilting (actually, any kind of sewing), gardening, and enthusiastically checking out the yard and garage sales in the area.
In 2023, Firma moved into the Pine Ridge Rehabilitation Center (“Club Pine Ridge”) where she became known as someone who was playful with a passion for colored pencils (seriously, a lot of them), and with sometimes aggressive walker/wheelchair skills.
Firma is survived by three children: Allen (Diane) Lucas, of Redwood City, Calif.; Elizabeth (Eric) Familo, of Brighton, Colo.; and Lance (Elisha) Lucas, of Pagosa Springs, Colo.. Her husband, Gary, died in 2015 and daughter Bonnie in 2022. There are also eight grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren, as well as several step-grandchildren.
The family wishes to thank the caring people at Pine Ridge Rehabilitation Center, the health care workers and all the others who tended to Firma’s needs, especially during the last several months of her life.
A memorial service will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 11, at the Pope John Paul II Catholic Church.
